Gold, silver sink on heavy sell-off, weak global sentiment

Gold prices slumped further at the domestic bullion market today on the back of hectic offloading by stockists and retail speculators, triggered by a overnight sell-off overseas.

Silver too dropped on aggressive unwinding from traders.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) plunged by Rs 315 per 10 grams to finish at 28,650 from Thursday's close of Rs 28,965.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) tumbled by Rs 310 per 10 grams to end Rs 28,785 from Rs 29,095 previously.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) tanked by Rs 1,650 per kg to finish at Rs 55,675 compared to Rs 57,325 yesterday.

On the global front, gold came under heavy selling pressure as worried investors dumped the yellow metal along with other commodities on concerns over the spiralling sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

In New York, gold for December delivery dropped by $54.10 to settle at $1,720.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while December silver contract slid to conclude at $31.50 an ounce.